Several months ago, Alia and I began searching for a press in earnest. Every day I would search the internet for "letterpress", "letterpress machine", or "printing press for sale". I would log on daily to the Briar Press website and look at the same ads of the same presses in Michigan or Oklahoma that would take at least a grand or two to ship out here, making them pretty much unobtainable. One of the professors at work mentioned a press at Oblation that he knew of for sale, but by the time he told me and I called, the press had been sold.
Alia eventually found the one on Craigslist on a Saturday night that had been posted just that morning. It was in NW Portland, and we could afford it. She emailed him. We waited. No response. I emailed him. We waited. No response, but you know how Craigslist is. We emailed him again, we waited, and then he emailed us back saying, I'm surprised you didn't get my email! I gave him a call, and it turns out he was moving it from his old shop into storage across town. We were like, "No! Just move it to our house," but it was too late, the movers were coming.
Alia had to work that day, so I went alone down to the storage place to meet Roger and the moving trucks. Roger had all the equipment you could imagine, most of which I hadn't even heard of, but he showed me his embossing machines, his offset litho, his foil cutter, his photopolymer plate burner *gasp*. I got to see his Heidelbergs and finally, last off the moving truck, his old style Chandler & Price. It was beautiful! It had been in storage for thirty years, so the rollers were melted and fused to the inking plate. He said it had a motor, but that after thirty years he wasn't sure where the motor was anymore. It was covered in a thick layer of dust. It was beautiful. I said we'd take it, I would call him after I talked to the movers, and I walked out of there on cloud nine.
When it comes to moving heavy things here in Portland, pretty much everyone I have talked to has recommended "the Samoan guys," so I searched the internet for "Samoan movers Portland" and found Big Al's. Big Al is 6' 6'' and 325 pounds (of pure muscle), end quote, and Yes, he's from Samoa. We scheduled the movers to come today to load the press into the garage, which is perfect, because our friend, Chris, was scheduled to come over tomorrow to help us take off the garage door and install a window in its stead. Perfect timing!
Yesterday morning, at work, on a whim, I logged into the Briar Press website again and see a new listing for an old style C&P 10 x 15. Wow, where's it located? Portland, Oregon. Really? Where? At a place two blocks from my desk. I stood up, put on my coat, and walked down the street and into Oblation. It was the same press I had inquired about before. The store owner said that he had sold it twice before and that both people had flaked on him. It was just like Roger's, except it had rollers, extra rollers, and a working motor. This press was cheaper, it worked, and we wouldn't have to spend a thousand bucks refurbishing it before we could (someday) print our cards at home instead of an hour-by-bus away. I said, "We'll take it. The movers will be here tomorrow!" A few phone calls later, and now we have a working press in our garage. Can I also say that Alicia Carrier takes the best photographs I have ever seen? woot.
Photo by Alice Carrier
It's all so magical . . . I have chills! Joy for you!
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